Advancing Neighborhood Sustainability

Safe Streets for All – Central Seattle Greenways

As part of a city-wide coalition, Central Seattle Greenways advocates for people-focused and prioritized neighborhood streets in the Central Area, including Capitol Hill.

From organizing events, providing community input and local expertise on transit policies and plans and advocating for greenways, protected bike lanes, safer intersections and parklets, they envision and work to create neighborhood environments that are active, accessible, safe and fun!

Based on Seattle’sBicycle Master Plan, they work with SDOT to build a greenway network throughout the city.

What are Greenways?

Neighborhood greenways are traffic-calmed residential streets that are safe and comfortable for people walking, biking, pushing strollers, and using wheelchairs. Through the implementation of traffic calming measures – speed limits under 20 mph, speed humps – safer crossings, improved sidewalk infrastructure, signs and other place-making and activation activities, these streets are made safer and more comfortable for people of all ages and abilities to get around.

As a volunteer-run group, Central Seattle Greenways (CSG) is made up of neighborhood residents and stakeholders who believe in the potential of our streets. Recognizing that is takes a committed community of individuals, elected leaders, businesses, and organizations to create meaningful change, CSG brings an accessible, positive and passionate neighborhood voice and perspective to these often technical and top-down transportation projects. As their goals below demonstrate, these neighborhood advocates put transportation issues in their full local context of safety, livability, health, equity and community.

Goals:

Empower neighbors to identify, advocate for, and activate safe and healthy streets for all people.

Create a connected network of safe, pleasant, and healthy streets in Seattle.

Make it easier for people to choose to walk, bike, or take transit for their daily transportation.

Make it easier for kids to walk and bike to school safely.

Work with the city to eliminate serious and fatal crashes (Vision Zero).

The Central Area Neighborhood Greenway, built in conjunction with the 23rd Avenue repaving project, will provide a comfortable path for people walking and biking parallel to 23rd Ave from Rainier Ave S to E Roanoke St. The project is divided into three phases: Phase 1, from S Jackson to E John, will be finished by late July 2015. Phases 2 and 3, which extend the greenway south to 24th & Rainier and north to E Roanoke St, should be completed by early 2016.

Additionally, an East West Central Greenway along E Columbia from Broadway to 34th Ave is in the planning stages, and we expect SDOT to complete it in 2017. A greenway on E Denny, from 21st Ave to Broadway, linking East Capitol Hill with the new light rail station, is on SDOT’s work plan for completion in 2019. Central Seattle Greenways is working with several community groups, including Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, to make improvements at the key intersection of 12th Ave E and E Denny closer to the time of the light rail station’s opening. The Ridge Route greenway, which follows the ridge of the hill from Judkins Park to Volunteer Park, is also on SDOT’s work plan to be completed in 2019.